Fire of Secrets
by Callisto-HK
Summary: The combination of the soot-covered walls and the glassless windows couldn't be called a building anymore; which meant Tony couldn't be living there! So, where was Tony and why had none of them heard of a fire in his building? After all, they were a team and they needed to know these things to have each other's back! Because they always did, right? /Set in S1 after "Left for Dead"
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: OK, um, this is an AU that follows the tenth episode of season 1, Left for Dead. (Spoiler alert for that episode if it's even needed!)**_

 _ **I know there are plenty of tags and stories about that episode, but honestly, I couldn't resist writing my own version, especially since it's always bothered me how things progressed during that episode. Even after so many years -and believe me, I've played with this idea for a looooong time- I still felt the urge to make a story out of that idea.**_

 _ **So, yeah, I hope you like this one, even though I'm sure you've read many other stories related to that episode, some of which are just wonderful.**_

 _ **WARNING: Kate-lovers might not like this story; be aware and consider yourself warned, please.**_

 _ **Let me know what you think.**_

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 _ **. Fire of Secrets .**_

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"-'the hell?" The harsh words left Gibbs' mouth before he could control them. He couldn't believe his eyes as he got out of the car in front of Tony's building; or, well, what was left of it? Because the combination of the black, soot-covered walls and the glassless windows couldn't be called a real building anymore. It sure couldn't have been habitable for a while; probably for a week or so; and from the look of it, there was a chance that even the roof of the building had collapsed.

"Are you sure you've got the right address?" Kate asked as she, too, got out of the service car and eyed the clearly burned down building.

The glare Gibbs gave her was enough to stop the further questions that were going to follow her first one.

They'd been called out on a case early that morning and Gibbs had decided to go and pick his agent up, instead of waiting for him, since they just needed to stop by his place on the way to the crime scene to do that. Or well, the place Gibbs thought Tony lived in was on the way; because this burned down building obviously couldn't be his agent's home and now Gibbs had no idea where to find him.

"I can't believe Tony hasn't said anything about this. Are you sure this is the right address?" As Gibbs turned around and glared harder, she hurried to explain. "I mean, this looks recent and-" Gibbs' glare was now getting unnerving, making Kate stop stating the obvious. "Um, you know what? I'll just call him."

Right then, Gibbs' phone started to ring. "No need." Gibbs growled at Kate and answered his phone. "Where are you, DiNozzo?"

"Hey, Boss! I was going to ask you the same thing." Gibbs heard the other man's cheerful voice and wondered if the younger man had moved out of this place before this incident and so had been unaware of the whole thing. "I got to the Navy Yard and Chris told me that we've got a new case so I came to the scene but you're not here; so I got worried since you drive like... Well, your way and-"

"DiNozzo!"

"Shutting up, Boss."

"We'll be there in 5. Start processing the scene." Gibbs ordered curtly.

"I'm already on it, Boss."

Gibbs and Kate were already on the move as the Lead Agent closed his phone, disconnecting the call.

"You didn't ask him about his place." Kate observed.

"Not the time. We've got a case."

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when Gibbs took a sudden turn and she was slammed against the door. This was Gibbs' way of saying the discussion was over for now; so she stayed quiet the rest of the way to the crime scene and didn't mention anything when they got to the scene and found Tony taking pictures of the body and listening to Ducky talking about a similar case he'd worked on when he'd been younger.

The rest of the day went by the same way; neither Gibbs nor Kate mentioned the trip to Tony's apartment building, but Gibbs kept giving Tony hard, penetrating stares while he worked and Kate kept glancing between the two of them, waiting for something to happen.

By the time they were wrapping things up to go home for the night, Tony was getting tired of the stares and obvious glances; so, he finally addressed it. "What's it, Kate?"

"What?" She was startled, not realizing that Tony had noticed her watching him stealthily.

"You've been giving me this look all day." Tony explained with a bored tone. "Just tell me what it is and get it over with."

"What look?" She tried to pretend like she didn't know what Tony was talking about, quickly glancing at Gibbs to see if the Lead Agent was mad at her for giving it away that something was going on.

"Come on, what's going on? Gibbs has been staring at me, too. Either tell me or stop it. It's getting creepy."

"Oh. You noticed?"

Narrowing his eyes, Tony said, "No, I'm this stupid green Rookie who doesn't notice it when things are different."

"What? Hey! No. I didn't say _that_." She couldn't get why Tony was so upset; it wasn't like Tony to react that way to their banters and she hadn't even said anything; she just didn't think Tony would notice Gibbs' stare; Gibbs was more discreet than that, right? Then again, she'd quickly learned that Tony could read Gibbs like nobody else; so she shouldn't have been all that surprised.

"Whatever." Tony started to get up and leave, giving up on the hope that his teammates would tell him what was going on with them.

"We went to your place today." Kate rushed to say, missing the glare and growl coming from Gibbs' side of the bullpen.

Tony didn't miss it, though; so, instead of saying anything to Kate, he turned his gaze to Gibbs and studied him.

"When did you move?" Gibbs finally entered the conversation when Tony refused to acknowledge Kate's comment and kept staring at him.

"Move?"

"We went to your apartment on the way to the crime scene." Kate informed the team's SFA, not caring that she was practically being ignored by the senior agents or that she was repeating herself.

"Your building is burned down." Gibbs commented next, still ignoring the newest member of his team.

"I know." Tony nodded.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Tony shrugged nonchalantly, "Last week. Was there. Saw it. Felt it." He clarified without missing a beat.

"You were there?" Kate looked shocked. "You... Last week?"

Tony finally turned his gaze away from his boss and got up from his chair. "Yes. So?"

"But you didn't tell us." Kate stated quietly. "You-"

Tony tilted his head, showing that he didn't know what she was getting at with her stammering.

"Why didn't you say something?" She finally got it out, sighing with frustration.

"Why would I do that?" He retorted casually, like what had happened hadn't mattered at all.

"Why? I don't know; maybe because we're a team?" She said, sounding a bit hurt, which was kinda baffling to Tony, because why would she be hurt over something like that?

"It wasn't work related." Tony declared.

"And since when do you just talk about work stuff here?" Gibbs demanded, getting tired of Tony playing ignorant.

"Since it wasn't related to one of my one night stands, either." The younger man replied coolly, locking his gaze with his boss' and letting him read it in his eyes that he thought Gibbs should already know that he never shared anything too personal or serious at work.

"Come on; you always seek attention and the one time you could actually get it without an eye-roll you don't say anything?"

Tony frowned at that and then grabbed his backpack, shaking his head in disappointment. "I don't seek attention Kate! It's called harmless joke and banter, what I do. And just why in the hell do you suddenly care so much? So what? My place burned down one night when I was at home; what does it have to do with you guys? It's not like _you_ lost all your stuff." Now he was truly upset as he remembered how he'd lost almost everything he'd owned.

Kate's eyes were round and even Gibbs' eyes were filled with concern, not that anyone saw it.

"What happened, Tony? Where are you staying now?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Ton-"

"You all made it clear that I'm on my own here if I have a problem." There was no heat behind Tony's words as he gave the junior agent a tired look, making it clear that he wasn't accusing anyone of anything; he was just stating the facts that he was resigned to.

"Were you hurt?" Kate asked and then her brain caught up with Tony's comment. "Wait, what? When did we do that? What are you talking about?"

"When I needed a place to stay at for a few nights, Kate." Tony frowned. "It was just for a _few_ nights and you reacted _that_ way; I don't wanna imagine what you would do if you heard I needed help or a place for as long as I looked for a whole new apartment and got new stuff." His voice was hollow and emotionless. "Doesn't matter. I've got it under control." He wasn't exactly sure if he actually had anything under control, but he wasn't going to let the others know that and at least he was taking care of things on his own, like he had his whole life; he was used to it at this point; he'd never needed anyone's help and he could take care of everything now. It wasn't the first time he'd had to start with nothing and from scratch. Using his teammates' shock-induced silence, he left the bullpen, using the stairs to get out of the building.

"What... What was he talking about?" Kate finally asked; her brain registering the fact that Tony had left, but still not sure of what he'd talked about.

Gibbs knew what his agent had exactly meant, though. Suppressing a sigh and a curse, he stood up and grabbed his gear. He needed to get to the quiet of his basement to think.

"Gibbs?" Kate finally turned her gaze away from Tony's now empty desk to look at the Lead Agent.

"The time when he didn't have power and heat at his place." Gibbs replied.

"The..." She shook her head. "When the boiler in his building blew? I thought... Oh!" She swallowed.

Gibbs's face didn't show anything when he left, but he had a turmoil on the inside.

That night, when he was sanding his boat, he got lost in his thoughts over Tony; how he had trouble trusting people and how it'd taken a long time for Gibbs to finally make Tony see that not everyone was like his former crooked partner that couldn't be trusted with anything or his clearly absent father that was never there or even his runaway bride who'd suddenly disappeared the night before their wedding. Damn, the younger man's life was full of people betraying his trust or just turning their backs on him at the time of need. He'd spent so much time showing him that it was different here and yet, the one time that Tony had actually put his pride and mistrust aside and come to him, he'd turned his back on him and he hadn't been the only one doing that; the whole team had ignored how he needed a place to stay. He'd always known how hard it was for Tony to ask for help, yet he hadn't considered it when he was approached by the younger man; and all because the one time that the ex-cop had stayed with him months ago, he'd spoken too much and had annoyed Gibbs with his boundless energy.

He didn't have anyone but himself to blame for the once again lost trust and he doubted any amount of work would fix that damage now. No wonder Tony hadn't told anyone when something like this had happened to him. Hell, he had no idea where Tony had stayed back when he had problem with just the power and heating system of his apartment; he'd offhandedly offered his place, but despite the affirmative response he'd gotten from Tony, the younger man never showed up at his place after that night and Gibbs didn't put much thought into it and then forgot about it by the next morning; focusing instead on the newest member of his team and her well-being after the tragic end to their previous case.

Now... Now, once again Tony'd been in trouble and this time, he hadn't even bothered to talk about it and Gibbs had no idea where the younger man was staying; he didn't have anyone here in DC and he was pretty sure that the younger man couldn't afford a hotel room when he'd lost almost all his possessions in the fire, most definitely having to replace them soon. He'd probably been forced to buy the most necessary stuff, including some new clothes, right after the fire; and with all the money going to the new stuff, he couldn't be in a good place, financially, to find a good place to stay at.

And let's not forget the emotional toll that the fire must've taken on him. Judging by the state of the building that he'd seen that morning, people must've lost almost everything in that place and not everything could be bought back with money.

There was another thing yet more important than losing all the irreplaceable stuff with emotional value and it was the physical well-being of the people living there. Had anyone lost his or her life to that fire? Had Tony gotten injured and hidden it because he didn't want anyone to know about his predicament? This really was a mess!

"Goddammit!" Gibbs cursed loudly and threw the sandpaper against the wall; running up the stairs two at a time. He needed some answers and he needed them now. He couldn't hide in his basement and pretend like he wasn't going crazy with worry.

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 **TBC ...**

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 ** _So, what do you think?_**

 ** _._**

 **I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I've never tried to make a saint out of Tony in my stories; I'm aware that he's got his own flaws; who doesn't, really? Yet, I tend to see the deeper layers and I like to focus on those things and in any case, t his is a Tony-centric story; like all my other stories. So, if it's not your thing, then please, PLEASE, I'm begging you, turn around now; no need for you to spend your time here like this! I'm not gonna remove the name of other characters as they have a role in this story and that is the purpose of tagging their names; to let the readers know who will be in a story; not about whom the story is; also, as I'm sure you know, the order in which their names appear is not up to the writer; when you tag the names, they'll be automatically ordered alphabetically.  
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 _ **Thanks for all your comments, alerts and faves; especially those who've left reviews as guests, since I cannot respond to their comments directly.**_

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 _"Goddammit!" Gibbs cursed loudly and threw the sandpaper against the wall; running up the stairs two at a time. He needed some answers and he needed them now. He couldn't hide in his basement and pretend like he wasn't going crazy with worry._

* * *

Just as Gibbs reached the basement entrance, he saw Ducky entering his house.

"Duck?"

"Good evening, Jethro."

"What can I do for you, Duck?" Gibbs asked, trying not to sound impatient with his friend; he was in a hurry to find some information about Tony and his well-being, but as uncaring as he pretended to be around people, he really didn't want to ruin things with yet another friend.

"I had an interesting talk with the newest member of your team." The ME could feel the impatience radiating from the Lead Agent's body and he didn't waste any time on pleasantries or any preamble.

Realization hit Gibbs about why the medical examiner was there. "And?"

"First, when I heard about the fire, I could not believe that our young Anthony had not told any one of us about his misfortune; but then Caitlin mentioned the incident from a few months back and I was ashamed to acknowledge my own part in pushing our young friend away. I acted rather inconsiderately and it appears that we have all managed to alienate him from our circle; and even though that has never been our intention, we should've known those mindless actions and words would cause trouble and we should've thought before turning our backs on that young man; _especially_ on him as we knew how hard it must've been for him to open up and ask for help."

Sighing with frustration, Gibbs leaned against the counter in his kitchen. "I know, Duck." He hoped that the ME actually had a reason for his visit and hadn't come around just to talk about his guilt.

"It might be too late for us to take back what we said and stop this incident from happening; but I could not rest without knowing about the seriousness of that tragic incident." The older man looked chagrined as he brought up a case file and put it on the counter. "I took the liberty to use our reputation and get a hold of the reports of the night of the fire."

That immediately caught Gibbs' attention and he grabbed the file. Inside the file, there were the reports from the Fire Department, the Local Police department and the medical teams responding to the emergency call.

The fire had been ruled an accident, starting from one of the elderly residents of the building which had sadly led to the old man's death. An old woman had also passed away in the hospital due to heavy smoke inhalation; but other than that, the rest of the occupants had survived, with different degrees of injuries, but alive and in one piece.

"As you can see," The doctor spoke up as Gibbs was going through the reports, "the fire seems to have spread rather quickly and by the time the Fire Department arrived, the whole building had been on fire; some of the younger residents had helped the others to evacuate the building the best way they could and if you take a look at the LEO's report you will note that the police officers responding to the call clearly know our Anthony because they have mentioned Special Agent DiNozzo in their reports and how he'd helped."

Gibbs nodded as he scanned the reports, looking for more information about DiNozzo. "The idiot had still been inside when the Fire Department arrived?" He winced at his own words; of course Tony wouldn't leave if he thought he could help; that just made him worried and when he was worried he was harsh.

Nodding solemnly, the ME said, "He _bravely_ took control of the situation and according to the witness records, which is included in the police report of the incident, without him there would've been more casualties."

"What about _him_ , Duck? Anything on him and his situation?"

"Ah, yes. Since he's spent so much time inside the building, he's been diagnosed with smoke inhalation above some second degree burns on his left upper arm and shoulder; first degree burn of his right palm and another second degree burn to his left leg, especially around his knee."

"Damn!" Gibbs cursed involuntarily as he himself finally found the report of the medics about the victims of the fire. Apparently, and not surprisingly, apart from those who'd lost their lives, Tony had been the one sporting the worst injuries, between the occupants of that building. "He'd been admitted."

"Yes." The ME replied quietly. "And since it'd been a Friday night, none of us had been any the wiser and by the next Monday, Anthony had managed to take care of his injuries and hide them the best way he could; which I might admit, had been really excellent, because even _I_ didn't notice anything wrong with him, even though he must've still had some problems with his lungs and the areas of second degree burns. He's truly mastered the art of hiding his discomfort and problems."

Gibbs growled, "The pigheaded, stubborn-"

"Now, now, Jethro!" The older man's tone was reproaching; "We cannot blame him for any of this; he has not refused the medical attention and had even stayed in the hospital, even though we both know of his feelings towards that place. And we certainly cannot hold it against him that he's hidden these things from us. We only have ourselves to blame for that. Maybe if we haven't been so careless before, he would've come to one of us after this; called us, even, when it happened and then he wouldn't have been forced to go through everything alone." He shook his head, sadness evident in his eyes. "Ah, the pain of realizing that he's lost everything and has no place to go to."

"I told him my door is always unlocked, Duck." Gibbs growled defensively. "And he knows it."

"You did? Before or after you rebuffed his attempt to find a roof for the cold nights when he had nowhere to stay?" Ducky scolded not too gently, making Gibbs feel like a naughty boy who'd just been caught red-handed by the schools' headmaster.

"He could've come to me."

"But does he really know that? Because, you, my friend, act anyway but welcoming and he certainly sees that more than anyone, especially now. And more importantly, does he know that you wouldn't blame him for what happened? Or that he wouldn't have been mocked by Caitlin for it?"

"What?" Now Gibbs was confused. "Why would I blame _him_? And Kate would never mock him for something like this."

"Oh, please, Jethro. Stop acting like that with me." The ME walked to a chair and heavily sat down. " _I_ know you would never blame him for something so out of his control; but firstly, Anthony always thinks everything is his fault; that he could've done better or should've done better and we both know it is rooted in his childhood; so you cannot blame him for thinking you would feel the same way. As for our female agent; true, Caitlin is kindhearted and she was really worried tonight and yes, she would've been worried at first if she'd heard about the fire from Anthony, but after she was certain that he was fine, she'd use it against him as she'd done so before. She, for some reasons, believes that nothing affects Anthony and she does everything in her power to test that theory. And since you, my friend, never say anything about it, she assumes it is alright for her to keep behaving that way."

"First of all," Gibbs growled. "DiNozzo can take care of himself. Second of all, he gives as good as he gets."

"Yes. True. Yet, you only always reproach the young man and never say anything when our dear Caitlin says things that are way out of line; not even when she's outright disrespectful."

"Duck, it's just friendly banter."

"And if you truly believe that and have never seen the fleeting flash of hurt that sometimes crosses Anthony's eyes or the clear signs of insubordination in Caitlin's voice and manner, then I think this conversation is completely futile. I must just depart and leave you with your boat and your bigger than this house pride and arrogance." With that, Dr. Mallard stood up to leave; his posture rigid with anger.

"Sit down, Duck." Gibbs sighed as he took another seat by the table; rubbing his face.

After a couple of seconds of contemplation, the doctor finally sat down.

"OK. First things first; tell me about his injuries. Do you think he needs rest?"

"It's been a week, Jethro and you have already finished two cases and are in the middle of the third one. If he was not fit for duty, he would've shown some signs by now."

"Wasn't what I asked. Does _he_ need rest?"

"I do not think benching him is wise; it'd look like a punishment and you certainly don't want that and besides, I think he's taking care of his injuries and since he hasn't shown any discomfort, I'd say he must be good to go; besides, he needs this to keep his mind occupied; so do not question him about his fitness."

"Dammit, Duck; it's not just his fitness; I'm worried he's pushing himself too far."

"He probably is; but he always does that and we both know it."

 _Well, yeah, they did know it. It wasn't the first time Tony'd been hurt since he'd joined them and he'd always ignore his limits!_ Gibbs thought with himself and realized that he hated the fact that he hadn't been there the first moment after the fire happened to make sure Tony was actually taking good care of himself. "Just because he knows how to take care of himself, doesn't mean he should do it alone." He said aloud.

"No, it certainly does not." Ducky sighed, "but sadly we haven't been there for him when it would still make a difference and he doesn't have anyone else, either."

"So, what do we do now?"

"I am not sure that we can do anything to erase this past week from his memory; or shall I say, these past few _months_?" Ducky shook his head; "however; perhaps we should start with finding his whereabouts?"

"And then what?"

"We could take it from there."

"Ducky, this is DiNozzo we're talking about; if he doesn't want us, we won't be able to do anything."

"If he doesn't want us, then we try and try some more; merely to show him that we are there for him whenever he is ready to let us in. But, you will not, under any circumstances, force anything upon him; is that clear, Jethro?"

"Not a caveman, Duck." Gibbs rolled his eyes as he took his phone out of his pocket to call Abby and see if she could locate Tony's phone.

"No, but when it comes to Anthony, you do show some signs of it." Ducky smiled slightly.

"Thanks." Gibbs growled. "Hey, Abs. I need you to do something for me." He greeted the Lab Tech, but before he could go any further, Abby interrupted her and immediately he knew that Kate had gone to Abby, too and had told her everything. "She doesn't waste any time, does she?" Gibbs snarled. "Tell her that if she doesn't have anything else to do, I can find her something that fills her time properly." Frowning he said, "No, Abby. I said NO!" He almost shouted. "Look," Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm down enough to be cordial to Abby. "It's not the time; just give me his location and stay away for now. Tomorrow you can talk to him. But not now. He probably won't even answer your call; so don't call and do not go there. If I find out that you and Kate have gone to him, there'll be repercussions. You hear me, Abby?" He listened for a few seconds and smiled slightly, "Good girl! And thanks, Abs."

Cutting off the line, he rubbed his eyes.

"I see Caitlin has gone to Abby, too." Ducky stated.

"Yup. Sometimes I wonder how she lasted more than just one week with the Secret Service."

Chuckling, Duck said, "She certainly matches Abigail in her ability to gossip."

"And right now, that's the last thing DiNozzo needs." Gibbs muttered as he this time dialed Kate's number. "Agent Todd!" He barked into the phone; "Listen to me carefully, because I'm only saying this once. You listening?" He asked and without waiting for an answer, continued. "You will not go to DiNozzo and you will not talk about this or what happened to him to anyone else. If I hear you disobeyed me and went to Tony, you'll be out of job. If I hear that you even called him tonight, you'll be out of job. And if I hear one more person knowing about that fire, you sure as hell will be out of job. That clear? We don't need some terrible gossip on the team."

From where Ducky was sitting, it was clear that Kate had just made the terrible mistake of interrupting Gibbs, because the man's face turn red and he started yelling into the phone. "I don't care what you thought or that you suddenly feel like you're DiNozzo's best friend; he's been doing just fine before you came along and the last thing he needs is you on his case. Stay away. You wanna show your concern, do it when he's around willingly; and even then you will stay away if he wants you to. Clear? I said, is that clear?" He barked. "Make sure you do that and one more thing; if I feel any traces of mocking in your words or behavior regarding his situation, you'll answer to me and I won't do anything in private this time. Now get back to your place; you've done enough gossiping for one night."

With that he cut the line and under his breath, he muttered, "Hell, she's done enough of it for a decade."

"To her defense, I would not be here if she hasn't come to me and you would not have Tony's whereabouts so quickly if she has not gone to Abigail. She's just worried and probably dealing with her own guilt and concern. Just like us."

"I know, Duck." He rubbed his temple. "But I had to put a stop to it and she's... She doesn't quit if you don't make it an order and a firm one at that. She keeps doing what she wants."

"Yes, she's a little wild like that." The older man nodded sagely. "And I'm glad you..." he paused to think for a moment, "Well, as you might say, nipped the problem of mocking in the bud."

"Just didn't want to wait and risk it."

"Very wise move; because sadly, I'm quite certain she would've done that; even if merely to lighten the atmosphere. That's the problem with her; she believes because Anthony jokes around, he doesn't know the right time for it and he deserves to be the butt of every joke."

Gibbs flinched slightly, remembering that he himself wasn't too innocent in that regard.

Ducky saw the flinch. "Yeah, we've done some questionable stuff ourselves, but I'd like to think that for us, those occasions have been rare moments and that even Anthony slips sometimes and makes an inappropriate joke himself; so he'd understand our excuse. But if it occurs way too many times, like with Caitlin, I believe that's just cruel and completely wrong."

Gibbs felt better hearing that. Yes, Tony'd understand a few slips; they didn't make it their jobs to put him down every chance they got. And he needed to put a stop to Kate's disrespectful behavior, too. Chain of command wasn't something to mess with. He just hoped it wasn't too late to fix it, because like he'd said, with Kate, you'd never know.

"Let's go to our young friend now. We'll think about the rest later." Ducky grabbed his hat and stood up.

Gibbs hesitated, though. "I just told both Abby and Kate to stay away and give him some space; don't you think we should do the same?"

"No, Jethro. While Anthony doesn't need to suddenly have his hands full with all of us, if none of us show up, it'd only mean that we haven't cared enough to check up on him now that we've finally found out about his dire experience. We're just going to show him that we care; he needs it, even if he doesn't know it himself."

' _OK. Yeah, that made sense.'_ Gibbs' inner voice approved; so, he, too, stood up and grabbed his stuff and then both men headed out to go see their young friend, who was currently staying at a cheap motel so far from the Navy Yard that Tony probably needed to leave at least half an hour earlier than usual each morning to be on time for work.

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 **TBC ...**

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 ** _Hope you liked it.  
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 ** _._**

 **I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.**


	3. Chapter 3

Tony had a hard time falling asleep; he hated that his coworkers had found out about his apartment and the fire and it was something bothering him more than the injuries he was sporting on the left side of his body.

He'd contemplated giving up on sleep and going back to the Navy Yard; maybe the work would keep his mind busy and away from all the different thoughts that were whirling in his head, but the long way to the office made him hesitate.

Just as he finally decided that it'd be worth the long drive to and back from the office if it meant the voices in his head would shut up for a few hours, a knock on the door echoed in the small room.

He frowned, wondering who could that be when he suddenly realized that his teammate couldn't just let him be and had probably traced his phone. It was a bit surprising; considering the fact that they usually forgot he existed the moment they parted ways; but he also knew that his situation was probably still a mystery to them and they definitely didn't like mysteries and secrets if they weren't the ones having them; so that was probably why they were on his case now.

Growling some colorful words under his breath, he yanked the door open, and stood in the doorway. "Hey, Boss." He said with pseudo-cheerfulness. "What're you doing here this late? This is really out of your way." He said cryptically, not making it clear whether he meant the last statement literally or figuratively.

While Gibbs was struggling with the best approach to address the issue, Ducky stepped up. "Hello, Anthony."

Tony, who'd just realized that his boss had company, winced slightly; great, now he had to have an actual conversation. "Ducky!" He sighed and turned his gaze back to his boss; "Tell me, Gibbs, does everyone at the Navy Yard know about the fire, now?"

"You gonna let us in?" The older man asked instead.

"You gonna answer my question?"

Ducky, not surprised by the stubbornness both men were showing, tried to defuse the tension. "Ah, you have to excuse us, young man, but I assure you, Jethro made sure Caitlin wouldn't say anything to anyone else."

"And who else did she talk to before Gibbs put a stop to it? I assume Abby knows since you're here and while we're at it, where are _they_? Should I wait for them, too?"

"No. No." Ducky shook his head. "It's just us and Abby who know about that sad incident and I assure you, they're not coming; they were ordered to give you some space."

"Too bad they were the only ones." Tony grumbled, but finally stepped aside to let his boss and the ME come into his room. It wasn't like he could make them leave now.

Gibbs was openly inspecting his room as Ducky merely walked to a chair and sat down.

"What are you looking for, Gibbs? This is just a motel room; not a crime scene." Tony sat down on his bed and watched the older men.

"Did anything survive the fire?" Gibbs asked directly, but his voice was softer than usual.

"Just some of my clothes in the back of the closet. Most things weren't salvageable." Tony replied just as directly and with no emotion to his voice, finding it useless to mourn the loss of things that wouldn't come back, no matter how upset he was over losing them. Besides, they were just stuff; lives had been lost in that fire and _that_ was something that he still couldn't get over, because maybe if he'd been faster and stronger, those lives could've been spared, too.

"We're so very sorry for what happened, dear boy." Ducky said and it was clear he meant it. "Some of those articles must've held a great deal of memory for you."

"Thanks, but they were just stuff. They can be replaced over time." Tony half shrugged with his good shoulder; he'd quickly learned that if possible, it was better not to move his left side all that much.

Gibbs was about to ask why he hadn't come to him; why he hadn't called him after something like that, but Tony's earlier words in the office echoed in his head and he stopped himself just in time. So, instead, he said, "I saw the reports from the night."

"Of course you did." Tony mumbled and then took a deep breath to take a hold of himself.

"You did great, DiNozzo." Gibbs commented firmly.

Tony only snorted.

"Maybe you missed your calling. The rate you're going, you can become a firefighter in no time."

"You certainly would've been an excellent firefighter, but it'd be a great loss for the law enforcement and our agency, since you're already an excellent investigator." Ducky commented quickly, not wanting Tony to think the Lead Agent meant it would've been better if Tony hadn't chosen his current path.

Ignoring the last part of Ducky's comment, Tony scorned what Gibbs said and Ducky confirmed. "Yeah; and imagine the number of dead bodies I'd leave behind."

And Gibbs was glad to hear that response, because it was exactly why he'd brought that subject up; he knew how Tony still blamed himself for the kid he'd lost to that fire in Baltimore and now he was clearly blaming himself for the lost lives in his own building's fire. But before he could say anything about it, Ducky jumped in.

"What happened to those unfortunate souls was not your fault, Anthony."

"No offense, Ducky, but you weren't there."

"Did you forget that I said we've read the reports?" Gibbs said sternly. "And did you start the fire? It was an accident and it wasn't even one caused because of you. Stop blaming yourself; you saved many lives that night."

Tony was quiet, because logically he'd told himself the same thing many times, but logic wasn't all that strong compared with the guilt that was gnawing at his soul.

"We also saw a report on your injuries; would you let me take a look at your wounds, my boy?"

Tony frowned and quickly got up to put some distance between himself and the two other men; like they would jump on him and hold him down if he was close enough. "What? No."

"Calm down." Gibbs almost rolled his eyes. "Ducky just wants to make sure you're taking good care of those burns."

"I am."

"Then you wouldn't mind Ducky taking a look."

"Actually, yes, I would." Tony didn't budge. "And before you ask, those burns that you clearly know about won't stop me from the field work, but if you need proof, I'll get you a note from the doctor who cleared me."

Realizing that this time, Tony would not comply, Gibbs just shook his head. "No need."

"I just wish to help." Ducky offered; "Maybe put the ointment on the burns and-"

"Ducky," Tony cut him off. "Thanks, but I'm fine. Really."

Sighing, the ME finally gave in. "Very well, my boy. But if you thought that I could help in any way, and I mean any way at all, you can come to me."

Tony barely stopped himself from scoffing, but the amused look in his eyes gave him away.

"I know you think we're not sincere in our offers because of how we reacted the last time you needed help; but I promise you that we regret doing that and we'll do better this time." The doctor deliberately used plural pronouns to show that he was speaking for all of them. "We really are sorry."

"Thanks, Ducky, but I'm good." Tony nodded. "And don't worry about the past; nothing to be sorry about." He smiled and this time it was clear that he meant it.

"Pack your stuff." Gibbs ordered. "We're going to my place."

"Excuse me?" Tony was now offended; who the hell did Gibbs think he was?

"Come on, DiNozzo; don't be so pigheaded; this place is trash."

"I've lived in worse places and I'm fine here. Thank you very much." He replied defiantly.

"We got your point, alright? Now grab your stuff and let's go; we don't have all night."

"Then go." Tony snapped angrily. "Nobody asked you to come. You came on your own and I'm sure you can go back without me holding your hand." He said sarcastically. "And," he added with a bitter tone; "don't mistake me for yourself; I don't do things just to prove a stupid point." He was royally pissed off now and couldn't care less if the man before him was his boss; there, in that room, he was just Gibbs, an arrogant bastard who was getting on his last nerve.

Ducky, who wasn't happy with the way Gibbs was showing his concern and handling the situation, quickly stood up to placate them before they could attack each other any further. "Gentlemen! Please calm yourselves down."

"Well, go ahead, DiNozzo; tell us what you think." Gibbs snarled.

"Oh, I believe I just did."

"Jethro!" Ducky called loudly before the Lead Agent could say anything else to make the whole situation even worse.

Gibbs closed his mouth; took one last look at his SFA and left the room angrily.

Sighing, Ducky approached the younger man. "Anthony, he didn't mean anything by that."

The corner of Tony's mouth went up as a bitter smirk formed. "Right."

"Come on, now, dear lad; you've been around him for a long time now; and despite my longer friendship with him, I'm certain you sometimes can read him better than I do. Surely you can see that he's worried and unable to show it properly."

"No, Ducky; you got it wrong. He just wants to control every single aspect of my life and he's mad that he didn't know about the fire or what's going on in my life. His ego is hurt; it's got nothing to do with worry."

"Anthony!" Ducky reproached. "That is not true."

"Uh-huh. I think you should leave; he hates waiting."

"He really was worried; I assure you of that and he does feel guilty that you had to go through everything alone."

"I'm _perfectly_ capable of taking care of myself."

"I don't doubt that; but to use Jethro's words of earlier tonight, _'Just because you know how to do that, doesn't mean you should do it alone.'_ "

Tony wasn't sure Gibbs had actually said those words, but he didn't voice his thoughts.

"You have to believe me, Anthony; he is worried; we all are and we're sorry-"

"Ducky, stop." Tony shook his head. "I meant it when I said you have nothing to be sorry about. I know what kind of person I am; I don't blame anyone for not wanting me in their home."

Ducky's heart clenched in his chest as he heard those words and saw how deeply the younger man believed them; outside the room, Gibbs winced slightly at hearing those sentences; it was one of the reasons he hated himself for turning his back on Tony; now the younger man was back to where he believed he deserved to be; alone.

"I shouldn't have put you in that position in the first place." Tony added quietly. "Sorry about that."

The headslap made him jump as he hadn't heard Gibbs reentering the room and the jump made him wince when his healing skin pulled.

"I spent close to a year to put it through your head that you could; that you _should,_ come to us if you needed help." Gibbs' tone was soft and there was no trace of the earlier anger in his voice or eyes.

"Still;" Tony shrugged with one shoulder; "It's one thing to ask for a ride and a whole other thing to wanna impose for days." He was determined not to make the same mistake again and both Ducky and Gibbs could see it in his eyes and both men knew they'd probably done some irreparable damage.

"No, Anthony, no. It's not different and you staying with us is not imposing; would you think of it as imposing if we needed a place under your roof?"

"That's different."

"How is that any different?" Gibbs growled.

"It just is." Tony was getting tired of this conversation; he wished the older men would just leave.

Ducky shook his head remorsefully, "I understand why you'd believe so after how we all reacted the one time you asked for a place, but it was our mistake, not-"

"Look, "Tony felt he was reaching his wits' end, so he once again interrupted the old doctor; "thanks, but I'm really fine here and I'll soon find another apartment closer to the Navy Yard and everything will be water under the bridge. You both need to go; it's getting late."

Exchanging a look with the doctor, Gibbs saw the same conclusion in his eyes. They wouldn't get through to Tony; at least not that night; not so quickly and definitely not when Tony looked so upset; at that moment, it was clear that they needed to respect the younger man's wish and give him some space. "You-"

"I'm sure, Boss." Tony grinned and in his head, he kept his fingers crossed that it'd work.

Finally Gibbs nodded and despite Ducky's reluctance, he walked to the door.

"This is not over." He said.

"I think it is." Tony retorted just as firmly, but even he knew that Gibbs was right and he'd at least have a few more battles before he could call it over.

"It _is_ getting late." Ducky conceded at last, "and you clearly need your rest; hopefully we can talk again later."

Tony wanted to say _'yeah, no! Hopefully we won't!',_ but settled for a polite, albeit forced smile and inwardly cheered when the older men finally left his room and he could close the door behind them.

Man, could this get any worse? He was having a hard enough time dealing with what had happened; why did everyone have to poke and dig and make it hurt even more? Why would they really do that when it was clear that they actually didn't give a shit where he slept at night or whether or not he had a warm place to go to? And he couldn't blame them; really; he couldn't and he didn't; they were all busy with their lives; they hadn't signed up for a needy teammate when he'd joined the team and they couldn't put everything aside every single time he had a small problem.

But what was different now? Why would they suddenly act this way? Did he have to lose _everything_ for them to ask how he was and mean it? That was just worse than never asking and Tony was perfectly fine with the latter because it'd been like that most of his life. What he couldn't deal with and got him confused and consequently annoyed was the on-again off-again act of caring and he really wished it'd stop; one way or another.

Just how many times did he have to say he was fine on his own for them to stop? He'd tried it at first and they all had seemed offended that Tony'd prefer to keep things to himself and at the end, he'd thought that maybe things were different here; that they actually didn't mind hearing about his problems and it'd been true for a while; but then it stopped; first they just showed reluctance and not too much later the outright refusal followed that reluctance and Tony knew that it was just the same here and that he shouldn't have expected more; because _he_ was the problem and it wasn't right to ask people to bear with him when he himself was so flawed. Nobody could stand him for long; not his work partners, not his father; not even his fiancée, the woman he once loved. So what had possessed him to make him think he could burden this people with his needs and problems was beyond him; but now he knew better and he would never again put anyone in a position where they had to put their lives on hold to take care of the mess he'd made.

He was too tired now, though; he didn't have any energy left to think about his team, their behavior or even his own past and the fire; he just needed to close his eyes and pretend, for a while, that he wasn't stuck in yet another mess.

Before going to bed, he just prayed that in future, he wouldn't have a repetition of the night he'd just had.

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 **TBC ...**

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 ** _Hope you liked it._**

 ** _Sorry for the late update; I really couldn't post a chapter sooner._**

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 **I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Before going to bed, he just prayed that in future, he wouldn't have a repetition of the night he'd just had._

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The next day, Tony wished he'd been more specific in his prayers, the previous night; because yes, while he wouldn't have a repeat of _that_ talk with Gibbs and Ducky; he probably would have to go through much worse conversations; much _much_ worse; because between Abby and Kate, he was just going to be so screwed.

"Tonyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Abby's scream startled him.

He'd just locked his car and had started to walk towards the elevator when she'd screamed his name and for a second he thought about jumping back in his car and racing away and calling in sick! But he was too slow for that, because even before the thought was fully formed in his head, he found himself engulfed in Abby's arms.

"Abbs!" He tried not to sound hurt, but the way she was squeezing him and hanging from him, he had serious trouble breathing and the burns on his arm and shoulder were screaming at him, too.

"Why didn't you tell me, Tony? Why? Oh, you poor baby! Is everything gone? All your stuff? I mean Kate told me the whole building looked terrible and so I drove to it this morning and saw how nothing could've survived a fire like that and how it's a miracle no one got seriously hurt and-"

"Two people _died_ , Abby!" Tony said dejectedly and extracted himself from her hug.

Abby's eyes widened and a gasp came from behind them and as Tony turned around, he found Kate standing there with wide eyes.

"O my God! Two people died? O my God, Tony! I'm so sorry! I had no idea! Are _you_ alright? Did you get hurt? Nobody would tell me anything!" Now Abby looked and sounded freaked out.

"Hey, calm down!" Tony soothed. "I'm alright! And nobody _knew_ anything to share it with you."

" _You_ did! And yet you didn't tell me. Why? Why didn't you say anything, Tony? O my God! I gotta find the reports of the incident; you'll never tell me the whole truth about yourself; you always hide it when you are hurt."

"I'm not hurt, Abby. See?" He opened his arms to show he was in one piece and standing right in front of her, "I'm standing right here and you've been seeing me for the last week. Did I ever look hurt to you?"

"No; but that doesn't mean anything when it comes to you. You're the master of concealment." She pouted. "How are you, Tony? And I don't mean just physically."

"Abby, just because you just found out about the fire, doesn't mean it happened last night. I'm fine; it's been a week and I've come to terms with it."

"But why didn't you say anything when it happened? We could've helped you; we would've been there for you."

"It wasn't important, Abby."

"What? Tony, your whole building is gone up in flames; you've lost everything!"

Tony winced slightly at her choice of words and her tone. "Yes, thank you; I was there." Shaking his head, he said, "I've got work to do, Abbs. The case is still open. Gotta go."

"Wait, Tony! I'm sorry!" She jumped and grabbed his arm, which turned out to be the exact place where he'd been burned, causing Tony to flinch involuntarily. Snatching her hand away like she was the one burned, Abby stared at him with wide eyes. "You... You _are_ hurt."

"I'm fine." He repeated himself, a bit forcefully.

"But-"

"Get to work, Abby. Gibbs will want answers soon and we wouldn't get them standing here, discussing old news." Tony said that and quickly walked away.

Luckily, he noticed Kate whispering something to Abby and hurrying after him; so making a quick decision, he changed his way and took the stairs instead of the elevator, so that the Junior Agent couldn't get the chance to start her own interrogation in the confined space of an elevator. He really had had enough of that for another lifetime.

"Sorry I'm late, Boss." Tony said in lieu of greeting as soon as he turned the corner and stepped into their bullpen; "ran into Abby on my way here." He added, knowing that'd be enough of an explanation.

The elevator dinged and Kate left it; she murmured an apology to Gibbs for being late and threw a frustrated look at Tony, but didn't say anything else.

Gibbs could see that she'd been with them wherever Abby and Tony had been and it was clear that Tony had escaped Kate's clutches.

"Did she have anything?"

"Just old news." Tony replied as he turned his computer on.

The Lead Agent knew perfectly what Tony meant, so he didn't ask anything further. After a few minutes, he was about to say that he was going down to see Ducky, but changed his mind when he realized it'd create the perfect opportunity for Kate to bombard Tony with her questions and now wasn't the right time for it, if ever was; besides, it wouldn't be fair to Tony to give an opportunity like that to Kate when he'd just managed to get away from one interrogation.

Having that in mind, the whole day, Gibbs didn't let Tony out of his sight and even when he needed coffee, much to Kate's annoyance, he'd send her for it and he kept ordering one for Tony, too; at least until the 5th coffee run; because then, once Kate was out of earshot, Tony finally broke. "Boss, thanks, but I think I've had enough coffee to stay awake the whole night; would you please not order one for me the next time?"

Gibbs didn't say anything back; he just thought that if he'd take that much sugar with his coffee, he, too, would get sick and tired of its taste.

"Besides, at this rate, I gotta move my desk and everything to one of the bathroom stalls." The younger man added with a wrinkled nose and then quickly got up and left the bullpen.

So, by the end of the day, Kate was ready to scream and it was taking all she had to control herself and not snap. Finally Gibbs' desk phone rang and since Abby had something for him and he had no choice but to go down to the lab, he took Kate with him.

Rolling her eyes, she got up and followed the Lead Agent to the elevator.

"Gibbs, why don't you want me to talk to Tony? And don't deny it, because pretty sure even the janitors have noticed it and none of them have been around today. You're not exactly subtle."

"I don't have to be." Gibbs growled. "We've got work to do." He replied shortly.

"We had a lunch break, but even then you didn't let me talk."

"He's heard enough."

"He's heard enough?" She repeated incredulously. "Well, you might all have had your turns, but you made sure I wouldn't get mine."

"Turn?" Gibbs glared at her. "He's not a suspect. Leave him alone."

"Gibbs! You know what I mean." She was frustrated, but it sounded annoyingly like a whine. "I just wanna know what happened; wanna know if he's alright. If you all wouldn't make such a big deal out of it, it'd-"

The door opened to the lab's floor, but Gibbs didn't move from his spot. The glare he was giving the new agent was so hard that she quickly backtracked.

"I mean, of course it's a big deal. I just... I mean..." She gulped. "I'm worried; alright? I can admit it and I can't focus on my work until I know what's happened."

"That's being nosy not worried." Gibbs snapped.

"Tony's my partner; I wanna make sure he's alright."

"And you'll get that if you have your _turn_ in interrogating him?"

Throwing her hands in the air, she left the elevator and called for Abby, which only managed to piss Gibbs more off; he barely kept himself from yelling at her.

"What?" The Goth ran out of her lab and stared at the two agents. "What's it?"

Clenching his fists, Gibbs turned to the Lab Tech. "Nothing; she's too chicken to admit to her intentions."

"What?" Kate almost screamed. "Gibbs!"

"We've got work to do, Agent Todd. If I hear another word about DiNozzo out of your mouth-"

"Gibbs!" This time it was Abby who screamed his name.

Gibbs growled under his breath and thought that sometimes he hated _all_ women!

"But you weren't there this morning!" Abby wasn't done talking. "Tony's acting so strange and I'm not saying that he shouldn't, because not only did he just lose his everything, he barely got away with his life and I found a copy of the reports of that fire and it's scary, Gibbs! It's scary and Tony had been such a hero that night; not that it's anything new; it's Tony, after all; he really is a hero all the time; I'm just saying..." She paused, "I guess I'm just saying you should see the reports and then you'd know why we're so worried and why we wanna pamper him and-"

"Hey, I don't wanna _pamper_ him!" Kate protested.

Ignoring Kate, Gibbs said, "I've already seen the reports. Leave it alone, Abby. He doesn't like it when people fuss."

Behind him, Kate scoffed. When both Gibbs and Abby glared at her, she just shrugged and said, "What? He always asks for everyone's attention; of course he cherishes every moment we fuss. And if you ask me, even this evasiveness he's showing now is his way of prolonging the attention he's receiving."

"Nobody asked _you_." Gibbs growled dangerously.

"You are a terrible profiler, Kate." For some reason, Abby sounded hurt.

"Hey!" Kate protested again. "You're not the one who has to tolerate him all the damn time; listening to his whines and standing his childish behavior."

"If you're that unhappy, why don't you just leave?" Tony's voice startled them all; even Gibbs hadn't noticed the younger man coming from the stairway.

Turning his cold glare away from Kate's surprised and slightly embarrassed eyes, he looked at Gibbs. "I've got a new lead; should I go alone?" He said and handed Gibbs' phone to him, which he'd apparently forgotten to take with him once he'd left the bullpen.

"Go get the car; I'll meet you in the garage." Gibbs ordered and watched as Tony started to walk away.

"Tony-" Kate called, but Tony waved his hand dismissively and walked away.

Glaring at her, Gibbs ordered her back to her desk. "And you better not leave it while we're gone. We'll discuss your lack of respect for your superior officer later."

"You _really_ are a terrible profiler, Kate." Abby shook her head sadly. "And obviously a terrible friend, too. Look what you did! Don't you think Tony's been hurt enough? He's right, if you're so unhappy, you can just leave; nobody's gonna stop you." She turned to go back to her lab; she hadn't even had the chance to give Gibbs the result of the tests and now she had to call him or Tony and tell them over the phone.

"Abby, wait!"

"No, I don't wanna hear it. You heard Gibbs, go back to your desk; I've got tests to run and results to report." She then locked the lab's door to make sure the agent couldn't enter.

Feeling remorseful and chastised, Kate turned around and took the stairs to the bullpen, knowing that she'd really put her foot in her mouth this time.

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 **TBC ...**

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 ** _Let me know what you think?_**

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 **I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.**


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: Thanks for all your comments and support. Your words encourage me and give me hope._ **

**_-Oh, and on a side note, I haven't forgotten about the Kid-Story; I'll get back to it with a new story-line, once I'm done with this one. Sorry for the long wait. -_**

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Upon returning to the Yard, both Gibbs and Tony went straight to their desks and ignored Kate's presence altogether.

She studied them openly, but couldn't tell whether they'd talked about her and the whole situation while they'd been alone together in the car or not; knowing them, they probably hadn't; because both men were pretty stubborn and so far, Kate had realized that when Tony was truly mad, he'd become all quiet and Gibbs wasn't one to talk anyway; so, chances were that they hadn't said a word to and back from the place they'd gone to check. Despite that, it frustrated her that she still couldn't actually read either one of them to be sure of her observations; for all she knew, they could've had a talk and had agreed to ignore her as a form of punishment.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a piece of paper was dropped in front of her. Startled, she looked up and found Gibbs' intimidating glare aimed at her. "Umm, what's this?"

"Sign it!" Was the curt order from the Team Leader.

"Huh?" She frowned and looked down to scan the page; her eyes widened when she recognized what she was holding. "This... This is a formal reprimand."

"Sign it!" Gibbs ordered again.

"Gibbs!" She looked up with pleading eyes. "I... I know I was wrong and way out of line and I'm sorry; but is this really necessary?"

"Showing disrespect towards a superior agent and more than once." Gibbs informed her coldly. "This will be added to your file, Agent Todd."

Turning her gaze to Tony, she found him focused on the paper on his desk; clearly trying to pretend he wasn't interested in whatever that was happening a few feet away from him. "Tony?" She called out, knowing he could help her if he wanted to.

Looking up, DiNozzo just stared at her, eyes emotionless and waiting.

Seeing that empty look in Tony's eyes shook Kate more than the paper she was holding. She'd never seen Tony looking like that and it scared her, because, at that moment, she realized that she didn't know Agent DiNozzo all that well and that a cold, uncaring Tony looked way worse and scarier than Gibbs ever could. Right then, she knew she'd gone too far with her behavior and her words; swallowing, she just said, "I really didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry."

Before Tony could muster the energy to remind her that this hadn't been the first time, so she clearly had meant what she'd said, Gibbs barked his order again. "Sign it, Agent Todd. That's an order."

Nodding, she grabbed her pen and dejectedly signed the paper to show she'd been informed of her wrongdoing and believed she deserved the black mark in her file. Without looking up, she handed the paper back to the Lead Agent and murmured another apology.

"DiNozzo is my SFA for a reason." Gibbs stated as he took the paper back from her; but to her surprise, he didn't leave. "And he's the best young agent I've ever worked with. Keep that in mind, Agent Todd. He's got his method and I've got mine; you're not obliged to _like_ either one, but as long as we're your superiors, you'll follow us with respect. That clear?"

Kate has never heard Gibbs talk that way about Tony, or well, _anyone_ for that matter; she briefly thought Tony must be on cloud nine right about now after hearing those words and had to glance his way to see for herself; but to her surprise, the desk was empty. Something in the back of her head told her that that was why Gibbs was praising the younger man so openly.

"I..." She looked back at Gibbs. "I do respect you, both of you. I just-"

"No excuses. You'll do as you're told." Gibbs was totally unforgiving and clearly still pissed off.

"OK. I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing." The man growled, clearly annoyed to see one of his rules was being broken repeatedly; especially since the man who deserved to hear it wasn't even present; because to be fair, this was one of those cases that breaking rule number six seemed necessary in general. "See that it never happens again." He waved the paper and walked away from the bullpen; leaving the young woman with her regrets and now shock.

He was still mad at her and a single signed reprimand wouldn't take that anger away.

After the messy conversation in the hallway in front of the lab and the things the female agent had spat, and once they'd left the building to follow Tony's lead, Gibbs had tried to get past his SFA's barriers to see if the younger man wanted to talk about what had happened; he hadn't been surprised, though, when Tony had brushed his concern aside and had instead started to talk about the case. Despite what Kate had said, Tony wasn't really one to talk about stuff that were emotional or too personal and he'd try his best to avoid unwanted attention and Gibbs was aware of that; he'd just sometimes forget it and buy into the younger man's acts, which wasn't an excuse but was the reason, nonetheless.

So, of course he was still mad at Kate _and_ at himself; but for now, all he could do was to remind the newest agent of her place and show his SFA some support.

.

Tony's lead turned out to be what they needed to find the right path; Abby's test results and two successful interrogations gave them their culprit which meant by midnight the case was finally closed and although it'd taken long, at least once their reports were written and done, they all could go home and be satisfied about another job well done.

Yet, when it was time to leave, nobody seemed happy or even satisfied; Gibbs was grumpy because he was worried about Tony and still mad at Kate - _and himself-_ ; Kate was apologetic, yet completely ignored by everyone which also made her annoyed and Tony was indifferent and cool on the outside and hurt and irritated on the inside.

So, in the end, the MCRT was anything but happy when they left; in fact, no one noticed when they left; by the time Kate finished her report, neither Gibbs nor Tony were there, although it seemed that they'd only left for a short while since both men had left their jackets behind and their computers were still on. She waited a while, but when it started to get past midnight and there was still no sign of either man, she finally gave up. Putting her report on Tony's desk, she took her stuff and left.

Not a minute after that Tony was back at his desk. He was aware that Kate wanted to talk to him, but now he was even more reluctant; he'd always hated addressing personal issues and always did everything to avoid it and this time was no exception; he just hoped things would get back to normal and people would stop acting like he was fragile and that they'd stop walking on eggshells around him; he could pretend like nothing had happened and could just hope that the others would follow his lead and go on with it. Deep down he knew it was wrong and that he needed to talk about it with Kate if he wanted a change, but talking was harder than hiding his feelings, especially since he'd learned early on that to be able to keep going, he needed to hide his emotions from everyone until they faded away; he was pretty much unable to talk about his real feelings at this point; not that anyone had ever cared before.

He was almost done checking Kate's report when a shadow fell over his desk; looking up, he was surprised to find Abby standing there, wriggling in her place.

"What are you still doing here?" He was genuinely surprised, especially once he looked at his watch to check the time.

Shrugging, she said, "I was waiting for you guys to finish your work."

"You need a ride?"

"If you don't mind?"

"Of course not. Let me finish this report and then we can go." Tony replied with a small smile and turned his attention back to his work. Less than five minutes later, he was ready to go; so he put their reports on Gibbs' desk and went to usher Abby towards the elevator.

Once they were inside the elevator car, Tony once again found himself the target of another hug from Abby; at least this time it was gentle and she was barely touching him.

"Ah, Abbs?"

"Thank you, Tony." She mumbled against his chest.

Thinking it strange to get so emotional over a ride home, Tony patted her back awkwardly. "It's just a ride, Abby."

"What? No. Not for that." She pulled away to look her friend in the eye. "Well, thanks for that, too; but mostly for being such a good friend, even when we're really crappy friends to you."

"You're welcome." He laughed before hugging her with his right arm, moving her body to the right side of his own body, "And you're not a crappy friend."

"Yes we are. We weren't there for you when you needed us and yet you're always there if we need anything. I can't believe you had to be all on your own after the fire. I wish you would've called me. Or Gibbs, or Ducky; I understand why you wouldn't have called Kate anyway and I don't blame you; I'm really mad at her after what she said today; but Tony, you gotta know, she didn't mean it; I mean she can't be _that_ nasty, right? Not to you; you're the sweetest guy ever and-"

"Whoa, I'm not sweet," Tony protested and rolled his eyes good-naturedly, before adding, "And pretty sure she did mean it." He sighed. "But it's alright; I do tease her a lot."

"And she teases you back."

"True."

"And you're never mean to her. You don't do things to hurt her; You never do that to anyone, expect the suspects if it's needed, I guess, and then they'd deserve it; but you don't get like that with anyone else, which makes you a sweet guy; but don't worry, Gibbs is sweet, too."

Tony snorted at that, not sure how the grumpy Marin would react if anyone dared calling him sweet in his face.

"Tony, would you forgive me for being a crappy friend? For not being there for you?"

"Abby, you are _not_ a crappy friend; you didn't even know about the fire, because I didn't _want_ you to know." He walked to the driver side of the car and got in.

She got in the car, as well and asked, "But why? Why didn't you want me to know? Or everyone else for that matter. Gibbs; Ducky!"

"Because it wasn't-"

"No!" She almost screamed.

Tony flinched. "Hey, inside voice! I'm driving." He chastised her.

"Sorry!" She lowered her voice and looked at him ruefully, "But don't you dare say it wasn't important. It _was_ important, Tony. It was really really really important and even if it wasn't something as big as that; even if it was a simple problem with your car, it still would've been important. You should know that you can come to us with absolutely anything."

Tony didn't have anything to say; not because he was convinced, but because he didn't know why everyone always said that when they didn't really mean it.

"Tony? You do know that right?"

"Didn't wanna burden you, Abbs. I can take care of myself and my problems."

"Nobody said you can't. You're this bad-ass Federal Agent who carries a gun and catches all kinds of criminals; of course you can take care of yourself; but everyone needs friends to share their burden with. You're not alone, Tony. Not here! Why would you think you'd bother us if you told us about your problems? You know we're always there for you."

"Only when it's convenient, huh?" It was out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Shit." He winced at his own words.

"What?" Abby asked quietly. "Why would you-" She trailed off when she noticed the pained look on Tony's face and started to think; silence filled the car; some long seconds later a gasp suddenly left her lips; well, nobody could ever accuse her of being obtuse. "O my God, Tony! I'm sorry."

Thankfully, they'd reached Abby's place by then and Tony kinda hoped she'd leave soon, because while his apartment, _the now burned down_ apartment, wasn't too far from Abby's place, the motel he was currently staying at, was on the opposite side and it'd take him a long time to get there and he was really tired and well, OK, he didn't want to endure this conversation any longer.

"I'm so so so very sorry, Tony!" She had tears in her eyes. "I... We're so selfish. Here I am apologizing for not being there for you after the fire and lecturing you about friends sharing the burden while we all turned our backs or forgot to ask anything when you did ask us for help. O my God! We really are even crappier friends than I thought."

"Abby! Hey!" Reluctantly, Tony turned around and pulled her into a semi-hug. "If you call yourself crappy one more time I swear I'll headslap you. You've got nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry I said anything. Please don't cry."

"No! You shouldn't be sorry!" She shook her head vehemently. "Tony... You; I can't believe we could... Where did you stay when you had no power in your apartment?"

Tony cringed inwardly; nobody had asked that before and he'd hoped nobody would ask now, either. But clearly he was out of luck. "It didn't last too long." He replied vaguely.

"Did you stay in a hotel?"

"No." He didn't want to admit that he'd been running a bit too low on money back then and that he'd needed what he had left. "Like I said, it didn't last too long. It was bearable."

" _Bearable_?" Her eyes widened comically. "God, you stayed in your place even though it was all cold and dark?"

"Come on, Abby! Don't be so dramatic! I barely went home between our cases."

"No, no! This is unacceptable. I hate myself. I'm so sorry, Tony."

"Abby!" Tony finally had to raise his voice a bit. "Please calm down and stop apologizing. It was months ago and it wasn't even important and for the umpteenth time; you have _nothing_ to apologize for; alright? _I_ wouldn't want me as a roommate; why would anyone else want that?" He tried to laugh, but it sounded hollow even to his own ears.

Abby's face crumpled and her heart clenched in her chest at hearing those words; she was close to Tony and knew a bit about his insecurities and some of the things he'd been through in his life _-not everything or even much, of course, because hello! Tony kept his true feelings and secrets so close to chest that if he didn't want to talk, not even two bottles of whiskey would loosen his tongue-_ ; hearing those words at that moment told her that they'd failed Tony big time and maybe there was no going back this time; no fixing it. "I'd love for you to be my roomie." She whispered. "I always enjoy your company. I'm sorry I didn't say this sooner; I'm sorry I didn't get you to come stay with me back then. Please, I'm begging you, please come stay with me now. Just till you find a new place. Please; I don't think I can ever forgive myself if you don't."

Tony suppressed a sigh. "Like I said, Abbs; nothing to forgive or forget. You're a great friend and I'm not upset you didn't want me at your place and I'm telling you, I'm doing fine now. Don't worry, OK? Now be a good girl and go home. I'm already running late for my date with my bed." He winked.

The weariness in Tony's eyes and voice hit Abby like a lightning bolt; she realized that she'd been right in her assumption that apparently there was no fixing it, this time; that it was too late to convince Tony that they actually cared and were his friends; because seriously, what kind of friends cared only when they felt like it? They were in a terrible situation and what was worse was that Tony didn't even blame them for what they'd done. She knew if she didn't leave the car right then, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from weeping and sobbing and this time it wouldn't be just a few tears either and Tony didn't deserve that; he needed his rest and he had enough on his plate already; he didn't need to deal with her guilt on top of everything else.

Nodding solemnly, she leaned forward and gave Tony a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, before throwing the door open and practically running to her building; leaving a bewildered and very tired DiNozzo alone in his car.

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 **TBC ...**

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 **Share your thoughts with me?**

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 **I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.**


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Once again, thank you so much for your support; all your comments, faves and alerts.  
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As it was the norm with Tony's luck, he didn't get to have the quiet night he'd thought he would have after the annoyingly long and frustrating day he'd had. After dropping Abby off, he'd sighed with relief that at least that hellish day was over; but soon, he cursed himself and his luck as it became clear that the confrontation with Abby hadn't been the ending of the tiring day he'd had.

Once he arrived to his temporary home, he found Gibbs leaning against the wall of his room, next to the door, drinking from a bottle of beer in his right hand, while holding a box of pizza and an opened pack of beer with his other hand.

"I left the building after you did and I stopped on the way for pizza and beer and I still got here before you. How slowly do you drive?"

Rolling his eyes, Tony pushed his key into the lock and opened the door; "First of all, Abby needed a ride, so I went to her place first; second of all, it's already past midnight and tomorrow we still gotta be at the office early morning; don't you need rest?"

"I brought dinner."

"Yeah, I can see that." Tony growled as he put his weapon and badge in a drawer next to his bed and locked it. "What's the occasion?" He asked, even though he was sure he knew the answer.

Gibbs, for his part, was playing casual. "It's time for dinner."

Tony almost laughed at that, but as it was, he was way too tired for even a laugh, so he just sank into his bed and let Gibbs drag a chair next to the bed and sit down. "It's closer to the time for breakfast." He pointed out.

Offering him a beer, Gibbs was glad that Tony was less hostile than the night before; which was strange, because with what had happened at work, he was pretty much ready for Tony to close the door in his face and just leave him in the parking lot. But then again, Tony'd probably never do that to anyone; not even his dirty ex-partner; he'd always give everyone another chance. Despite the fact that he was the one with his door always unlocked, Tony was actually the one with his door always open.

"How are your burns?" Gibbs finally decided to start with the most obvious question.

"Healing nicely." Tony replied _almost_ truthfully; because in all honesty, he himself wasn't happy with the way they were healing and he felt like they'd leave scars at some places; not that he minded them of themselves; he had others scars, too; but burn marks were a little harder to hide or explain and as someone who did a lot of undercover work, he needed to be able to cover the scars as much as possible.

"Didn't see you putting any ointment on them, today." In fact, Gibbs couldn't remember seeing Tony doing that any other day of the past week either, but those other days, he hadn't been aware and so he hadn't paid attention either.

"Took my pills." The younger man replied. "And put the cream on them before coming to work."

Gibbs really wanted to see the injuries for himself to be sure that they were actually healing nicely; God knew Tony never paid much attention to his own health, probably because he never realized how important it was.

"Want me to help you with them tonight?"

"What?" Tony's eyes widened. "No. I've got it. Thanks." Who did Gibbs think had taken care of those wounds the past 8 days?

Mentally shrugging, Gibbs told himself that it'd been worth a shot.

The next few minutes were spent in silence and not exactly a comfortable one; it wasn't awkward, but Tony's set face told Gibbs that he most probably wished the older man would finish his beer and dinner sooner and just leave. So, before he'd be, politely of course, kicked out, he decided to bring up what he'd come here for tonight; the more he waited the harder it'd get and although normally he'd just ignore the issues and let them either fester or get resolved on their own, _or by other people_ , this couldn't be one of those occasion; because for once, the Lead Agent was actually concerned about the outcome of this situation and he did feel guilty over the whole thing.

"When I tell you that my door is open, I mean it, DiNozzo." He finally said, glancing at his SFA over the beer bottle. "And when you say _'I know'_ , I assume that you actually know."

Tony suppressed the urge to glare at his boss for assuming he was stupid; instead he just opted to use words. "And I've always assumed you know I'm not stupid. Have I been breaking rule number 8?" He didn't even look up from the spot on the pizza box that had caught his attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Gibbs," He finally looked up, "that actions speak louder than words and let's not forget that you'd already refused my request twice, in public I might add, before you took pity on me and offered me a place and I'm not stupid, I know when I'm not welcome and before you say anything, I don't blame you and I'm not upset over it; I'm not accusing you of not caring or anything else either. I'm just saying that I'm not stupid and that when I said I knew, I meant it. I know your door is always open; everyone knows that; doesn't mean everyone is welcome in your house all the time." He added with a half shrug, not uttering his thoughts over the fact that apparently the door _was_ open, but not to him.

Gibbs was remorseful and surprised at the same time; both for having conveyed that message, merely because he was grumpy and impatient, always preferring to be alone, and for Tony to have received it so clearly; he couldn't talk about that part, though; so he chose something else in Tony's speech to address. "I didn't offer my place out of pity! I'd thought you would find somewhere else and when you didn't-"

Rolling his eyes, Tony interrupted him. "Yeah, sure, you thought I'd find another place when you couldn't even let me finish asking to stay at your place. Why would anyone else let me stay with them when you were clearly announcing that it'd be a disaster if they let me in their places?"

Gibbs barely stopped himself from cringing; ' _damn'_ he thought when he realized he'd played an even bigger role in the younger man getting rejected by everyone else. There was no way around it; he had to swallow his pride and say it; "I'm sorry." Not that it'd magically fix anything, but it'd be a start; right? "I didn't realize." He added forlornly.

"Doesn't matter." Tony shook his head. "Like I said, I actually understand; I'm not even upset. I just don't like it when you think I'm a fool, hence, the argument." He shrugged and winced slightly. "Besides, it's in the past."

"It's not in the past when you hide the fact that you've lost your home and everything in it to a fire and the fact that you've had nowhere to stay at for a week and only talk about it when we _accidentally_ find out about the fire on our own. It's not in the past when you refuse any and every kind of help."

"God, why does everyone like to make such a big deal out of this?" Tony growled and got up from his bed, pacing the room up and down. "The fire didn't happen last night; I've gotten over it and I do have a place to go to after work; you're _in_ it, right now, in case you haven't noticed. So yes, those days are in the past and so is this incident really. Would you just let it go? Please?"

"Would you've told us if the fire had happened before the whole thing that followed the boiler in your place blowing?"

"Of course you wouldn't let it go; what was I thinking?" Tony grumbled with frustration as he threw his head back.

"Tony!"

"What?!" The younger man snapped. "I don't know, OK? Yes, I probably would've mentioned it but it doesn't make that right or this, _the not saying anything_ , wrong. I probably would've mentioned it; hell, I probably would've called you the moment I was hit with the reality and the truth of what has happened, but _that_ would've been wrong; because you've got your own life and your own problems; you're not my keeper and you don't deserve to be stuck with someone like me. It's not your fault that there's always something going on in my life. It's always been like this and I've always managed to find a way to pull myself out of the mess that's come up, only to land in a new mess, I guess; but that's not the point here; the point is that I'm not your problem and now would you please stop acting like I didn't call you because I've been upset or wanted to hurt you or something? It's not that."

"No. It's not that." Gibbs conceded, before adding, "It's that you've lost your trust in us."

"Jesus Christ! Gibbs! Leave it alone." Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly and absently wondered how his boss would react if he just crawled under the sheets and went to sleep, ignoring the presence of the other man altogether. "It's not about trust. What does it have anything to do with trust, anyway?"

"Do I have to spell everything out for you?" Gibbs growled. "I've spent months to show you we were different than other people in your life; that here you can trust us and not just with having your six but with your problems as well and here you say it's not about trust? I know we've broken that trust, but you can't say it's not about that." He didn't know why he was getting so worked up, maybe because Tony wouldn't just admit that he was mad at them for turning their backs on him; if he'd admit and accept that, they could apologize, even though he believed it fixed nothing and was just a sign of weakness; and start to move on and do better; but when the younger man actually _believed_ that he deserved to be hung out to dry and no one but himself was at fault, then he didn't know what to do or how to fix it; he was at his wit's end and it infuriated him. Because Tony wasn't the one making the mistake; _Tony didn't deserve this; dammit!_

"Yeah, go on; you're one to talk!" Tony sounded drained of all energy, but his words hit home.

Gibbs didn't show anything, but he knew what Tony was talking about.

"You always hide everything, Gibbs; never ask for help or anything; I bet if you'd lost your place you would've done just the same; wouldn't you? Would you have actually told anyone about it? Would you have come to my place to stay because you didn't have a home anymore?" Tony inquired and his tone of voice showed that he already knew the answers and if Gibbs was honest with himself, he'd admit that the younger man was right, too.

"That's different."

"How?"

"It's my job to look out for you."

Tilting his head, Tony shook his head to indicate his confusion. "You're the boss, sure; but what happens outside of the job isn't on you."

"You're my responsibility."

"No, we're not. We're grownups and we're all perfectly capable of dealing with our problems; as we should be."

"Asking for help doesn't make you less of a grownup."

"Oh come on, Gibbs. _You_ can't ask for help yourself; why do you expect it to be easy for everyone else?"

"It _is_ easy for everyone but you." Gibbs pointed out.

"Or you!" Tony insisted and then sighed. "And everyone else is not a menace." He murmured quietly and with such conviction that it was clear that he believed every word and wasn't saying it to attract sympathy; louder, he added, "Believe it or not, I know how annoying some of my habits are and like I said, I don't think less of you or the others for turning my request down. I'm too old to rely on the others and I'm actually glad I was reminded of it before getting too weak."

 _'Weak? And... Menace? Really?'_ This time, Gibbs was merely shocked; he knew that Tony didn't think that highly of himself, but he hadn't suspected that the ex-cop had such a low opinion of himself, either. "Shut up before I slap you to the next week." He finally growled, unable to censor himself. "How am I gonna get you to put this through your head? Asking for help doesn't make you weak. I'll ask for help if that makes you believe me."

Tony's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yes, dammit!"

"Huh! Yeah, we'll see." Clearly, Tony wasn't convinced.

"And _menace?_ Who the hell has put that idea into your head?" He growled.

Tony stared at him for a second and was about to say ' _how about everyone?_ ' _,_ but then shook his head and said, "It's just a word."

Gibbs could clearly see what the younger man was thinking about and mentally head-slapped himself when he realized that while they hadn't been the first ones giving him that idea, they sure had given it some weight. "You're not." He uttered firmly. "Now, will you just grab your stuff and come to my place?"

Tony snorted, like it was the most absurd thing that had left Gibbs' mouth, "No. I'm actually good here. Thanks, but really, I'm doing well."

Gibbs hadn't felt this defeated in the last few years. "Have I been talking to the walls this whole time?"

"I heard you, Boss and thanks for the offer; but I'm really OK. Would you please stop with this weird conversation? Despite what you think I don't like the sound of my voice and I hate repeating myself."

That told Gibbs that Tony was still firm on all his opinions.

Yes, apparently he _had_ been talking to the walls!

Not that Gibbs was surprised; years of dealing with people who couldn't care less about him and then having new people in life who said otherwise and then just treated him as bad as the others had thought Tony the hard way that he was on his own; no matter what and that he should be strong and shouldn't bother the others with his problems; Gibbs didn't think anyone could erase that much of self-doubt in one day, or even one year!

 _So what?_ Giving up wasn't an option!

What was next? He needed to be persistent? Fine; he could do that; he could be like a dog with a bone if he wanted to.

For now, though, it seemed like he needed to give it a rest before trying again; maybe he could come and steal Tony's stuff and take them to his place one day when he wasn't around. No; to Tony that'd probably look like he wasn't trusted to fix his problems and then he'd feel he had no control over his life, either. That would only backfire. This was going to be a long-term project; one going beyond this incident and Tony not having a place to call home for a while. If he wanted to stay here, Gibbs was going to let him; because it seemed like the right thing to do, at that moment; but little by little, he had to bring the younger man around, again and then make sure not to create another mess.

"Abby's not gonna give up." He pointed out.

Tony shrugged, "I don't know what to say anymore. I can only repeat myself at this point."

"And I'll repeat myself; you're wrong about yourself." Gibbs retorted calmly, but firmly.

Tony averted his gaze; wishing he could disappear.

"Kate's not gonna change her attitude." Gibbs added, and both men knew that he didn't mean it like with Abby; that, this time, he was talking about her general behavior.

"No, she's not. She's too full of herself to change for anyone or to see the truth of things after she's made up her mind about them."

"You want her gone?"

Tony was surprised to hear that; Gibbs would actually send her away if Tony couldn't work with her? He thanked his years of experience for being able to hide his surprise and then actually pondered Gibbs' question for a few seconds. Did he want to be free of the constant negative criticism and jabs from the newest member of the team? Sure! Did he want her gone for good, though? No. She was good for the team and she needed a place to belong, too; he couldn't do that to her; he knew he would never get the respect he deserved from her; but he didn't think he could ask the boss to get rid of her just because of that. "No. She could be good for the team."

Gibbs studied him for a couple of seconds and finally nodded. "Yes, but we don't _need_ her. We were a good team before her."

"True." Tony acknowledged, "But Morrow was always on our case."

"She probably will never learn some stuff." Gibbs offered, referring to her taking the SFA seriously or respecting him the way he deserved. "I could interfere, but-"

"No, don't." Tony shook his head quickly. "Too late."

Gibbs winced. "Would've changed it if I could."

"Thanks." The younger man nodded; at least it was _something_ ; the Lead Agent was admitting that it was partly his fault for adding fuel to the fire and for not reminding her of her place, sooner; and Tony know he, himself, was also partly at fault.

"Will do my best to remind her of her place; but she's a woman." He said, like it explained everything and with Gibbs it kind of did.

Tony smiled lopsidedly; he knew his boss well enough to understand what it meant when he said things like that. "I know. It's OK. I'll have my own ways to get revenge."

Hearing that made Gibbs smirk. "Do what you gotta do."

"Thanks, Boss."

"And in the meantime," Gibbs continued, "remember that you're not alone. We make mistakes, but..." He trailed off and shook his head.

Tony wanted to smile and thank the older man and say ' _sure'_ , but he couldn't; he really couldn't fool himself and he knew it wasn't right to ask people to carry his burden for him; so no, he didn't think he could ever ask for help again, and he doubted he could change his way of thinking.

Gibbs saw the lack of reaction and acknowledgement for what it was and silently cursed himself again; he needed to be less of a bastard sometimes. "You're not a burden, DiNozzo!" He had to add, because he was sure it was what Tony was thinking; it was what everyone in Tony's life had _made_ him think.

 _'Oh, but I am.'_ Tony smiled bitterly to himself; on the outside, though, he just closed his eyes to hide his feelings that he knew the Lead Agent could easily read in his eyes and then took a gulp of his beer. "Not gonna make it to work before noon, tomorrow." He changed the subject.

"We already have the morning off." Gibbs replied nonchalantly.

Turning his head towards the older man and studying him, Tony smirked, "And you're gonna let Kate come early!"

"She didn't earn the time off."

Chuckling, Tony said, "She didn't, did she?"

"Nope."

"I'd drink to some more hours of sleep."

Surprisingly, Gibbs clinked his bottle to Tony's and said, "so would I."

Eying his boss, Tony raised any eyebrow, but didn't comment on it.

Gibbs just smirked into his drink and kept quiet. He'd also drink to easy and slow. He wouldn't push the issue; if Tony wanted to take it slow and pretend like nothing had happened, he'd let him for now and slowly, step by step, he'd once again gain the younger man's trust and show him that this time, he really would be there for him; no matter what. Because not having that complete trust was not an option. He just wished he, _they_ , hadn't screwed up so royally in the first place; because until he could make Tony trust them again, the younger man would keep believing that he deserved to be on his own and would keep hiding behind his walls and masks; more importantly, now that he'd lost everything he'd owned, he'd need help more than ever; yet, he wouldn't accept it from anyone and maybe it was the punishment for Gibbs that he had to step aside, try to offer help and watch as his young protégé struggled, yet refused to accept his help. Yes, he'd screwed up and now he was paying for it. Life did suck!

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 **The End...**

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 _ **A/N: Let me know what you think.**_

 _ **This one is finished; but in our heads, it could go either way from here; Gibbs could actually change and become supportive, which means the following days, weeks, months and years would be easier on Tony (and probably a lot different from what we saw on the show); or he could forget what he'd had in mind, at this point, and they'd all go down the same path!  
(The third option, my personal favorite, is that Gibbs does change and then shows more support, but occasionally makes mistakes again, kinda like, one step forward, two steps back; which is something that could create opportunities for other stories if you have an**_ _ ** _ **unstoppable imagination**_. We could go on forever!)  
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 **I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.**


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